Chapter 152: A Far Away Tale. The Sword and The Spear - 1
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 152: A Far Away Tale. The Sword and The Spear - 1
“Haha! I really like people these days. That old engineer, and you folks too. Hey, you, the sister! You were about to step up before the engineer did, weren’t you?”
Now that the other party had revealed his identity, the captain he pointed to quickly saluted. The general nodded in satisfaction.
“A captain must have some fight in her, but you still have to be careful when you’re surrounded by guns! It’s dangerous if your Qi Art isn’t fully developed yet!”
“…It is an honor.”
Though my reading of her thoughts told me she hadn't been planning to fight, the captain nodded anyway. The general, who had been watching her with a pleased expression, stroked his chin and turned to me.
“And you, little brother! The courage to stop someone is just as necessary as the courage to step forward! Well done! Man, if you were just ten years younger, I’d have taken you as my disciple!”
He seemed to have a rather high opinion of me.
Good. I’ll lay on the flattery. Compliments from someone you’ve acknowledged always hit harder than those from a complete stranger.
“If I could go back ten years, I would seek you out to learn from you, General.”
“Wow. This little brother knows how to make a man feel good! Hahaha!”
The general grinned boyishly and clapped me hard on the shoulder. Then he turned to look at the old engineer.
“What a spirited old man! Damn right, those so-called knights don’t have half the guts you do. It’s a real shame!”
“Ah, it is an honor, General. A tremendous honor to meet you like this….”
The old engineer looked like he might die of heart failure on the spot. So overwhelmed he could barely breathe, he praised the general in a halting voice.
“To meet the man who brought judgment upon the kingdom and be unable to offer you anything… I am only filled with regret….”
“What are you talking about? Forget it!”
The general waved his hands, looking uncomfortable.
“Judgment? I wasn’t fighting for some grand cause. You know how it is. I just couldn’t stand watching those who think they’re strong preying on the weak. I wanted to show them what a real duel tastes like…. Honestly, I was just planning to charge in and die. But a coup d’état just happened to break out, and I ended up becoming a general by accident.”
He hadn’t conspired with the Military State.
The Military State had simply taken advantage of his duel.
In fact, it was precisely because the coup had been as impulsive as a single man’s whim that the kingdom had been unable to resist and collapsed.
Of course, the greatest contribution was Patraxion’s own achievement of single-handedly fighting his way through the city—a battlefield notoriously disadvantageous for soldiers.
“Even so, that fact doesn’t diminish your duel, General. It’s an undeniable truth that you marched alone from the outer walls to the inner castle, fighting a hundred duels along the way.”
“Man, this is so awkward I can’t even be a general in peace. Anyone listening would think I brought down the kingdom all by myself. Anyway! Since my cover’s blown!”
Finishing his sentence, the general leaped up. Colonel Gand wiped his spear and followed suit.
“Well! It’s been a fun trip, but it’s about time we parted ways. I have things to do.”
“Ah, you said you were on vacation, right?”
“It’s a vacation in name only. More like volunteer work, really. Something I threw away has come back to bite me in a big way. A man’s gotta clean up his own trash, right?”
The general clicked his tongue and muttered.
“Tsk. I thought he had plenty of talent and the right attitude. You really never know how people will turn out.”
Reading General Patraxion’s memories, I saw that ‘they’—the ones he was going to stop—were heinous criminals with asymmetrical combat strength.
A group of four—one man, one woman, and two beastkin—were powerful outliers that not even the army could stop. The potential losses from fighting them were so great that an order for ‘Active Engagement Avoidance’—essentially a command to flee—had been issued. These monsters were now roaming the Military State.
As anyone might guess by now, they were undoubtedly the people I knew.
But why were they here?
“Anyway, I’ve got to get off around here. From here… Hey, Gand. Where do we need to go?”
Colonel Gand, who was just unfolding a map, replied.
“We should visit the garrison near Falkaris to gather information and gear up.”
“Alright. So, it’s around here. It’s time for us to part.”
Before we could even say our goodbyes, the general leaped off without a hint of reluctance. Colonel Gand followed right behind him.
The Meta Conveyor Belt was moving at a considerable speed, yet when he landed on the ground, it was as if all momentum had vanished. There was no undignified rolling or stumbling. The general and his adjutant walked away as calmly as if they had just hopped off a small hill.
“Ah… General.”
The old engineer stared endlessly at the general’s retreating back.
The distance between them grew in an instant, and soon they were out of sight. I turned to the captain.
“Whoa. To think I’d meet General Patraxion in my lifetime. He’s a better guy than I expected.”
The captain replied slowly.
“…Affirmative. However, I am concerned about the minor rule violation. He used his vacation time at his own discretion.”
“What can you do? He’s the guy who overturned a country because he got pissed off. This might be him with his temper in check.”
“Affirmative.”
It was a connection as fleeting as the wind. He was a good man, and thanks to him, things had gone smoothly. I’d even heard news of my old friends.
By the way, is the Regressor planning to smash the Military State this time around? Why is she wandering around, making her presence known?
Well, if she has any sense, she won’t just march straight into the capital. So I probably won’t run into her.
Another half-day’s travel and we’ll be in Amitengrad. Once there, I’m sure I’ll hear news of where she’s headed.
I’m suddenly curious. I wonder what she’s up to.
*
The people of the hub city of Falkaris learned that fear and curiosity could coexist.
A few hours ago, an alarm had sounded. A monotone voice announced the terrible news: heinous criminals who had crawled out of Tantalus were moving in a straight line toward Amitengrad, and Falkaris lay directly in their path.
A few quick-witted people fled immediately. Those who couldn’t afford to run hunkered down in their rooms.
They prayed the criminals weren’t sadistic murderers.
They weren’t.
“Give us your biggest room. We’re resting.”
“O-Of course!”
“How much?”
“What? For travelers who aren’t soldiers on official business, a large room is 1500 alke per night….”
“Here.”
The supply officer, who had been holding his post with grim determination, received a 10,000-alke coin. While he stared blankly, not even thinking of giving change, Shei held out her hand.
“It’s a deposit. If anything gets broken, that’ll cover it.”
Whether he liked it or not, the supply officer was faithful to his duty. The key to the large room fell into Shei’s palm.
Once they had settled their things in the room, Nabi began to pester Shei for her tribute.
“Nyaaa. Give me today’s, today’s tribute, nya!”
“…”
Shei silently took out the day’s portion of mana herbs and placed it in Nabi’s mouth. Tyrkanzyaka watched this intently before speaking.
“Your devotion to the Cat King is beginning to lack sincerity. Has it become a bother?”
“…N-No, it’s still fine. It’s just.”
“Just?”
Shei watched Nabi purr with pleasure as she greedily puffed on the mana herbs, and muttered.
“I can’t look after Nabi forever. The day will come when I have to part with her. I was just wondering what I’ll do then.”
“What a truly foolish worry.”
Tyrkanzyaka clicked her tongue, then straightened her posture and offered Shei some heartfelt advice.
“What makes you think you can be responsible for anything? A creature with its own feet walks its own path. What path it takes after leaving you is not your responsibility. You must learn to let things go….”
It was advice filled with the wisdom of ages, but midway through, Tyrkanzyaka thought of someone and lowered her head gloomily. She herself was chasing after someone who had walked their own path.
This time, it was Shei who offered a quiet consolation.
“It’s okay. They say it’s hard to see your own flaws.”
“…How very kind of you! Now, how long do you intend to stay in a room full of women? If your business is done, get out!” Tyrkanzyaka snapped sharply. Shei let out a small groan and looked around the room.
In truth, there was no need for Shei to remain in this room. No one here was a pushover; unless it was someone on the level of the Military State’s Six Generals, they couldn’t even be scratched.
With a reliable power like Tyrkanzyaka present, she wasn’t worried about them running off either.
But she was getting tired of constantly being treated like a man. Shei wondered if it was time to reveal her gender. It was a bit extreme, but if she showed them her naked body, the misunderstanding would be cleared up.
The problem was, how could she show her bare skin naturally…?
Tyrkanzyaka was so conservative that it was hard to find an opportunity. Shei was wondering if she should find a hot spring somewhere when it happened.
Sensing an unfamiliar presence, Tyrkanzyaka turned her head.
“We have a visitor, Shei…. Hmm? They came to the door and are now turning back.”
“Ah. I think I know who it is.”
When Shei opened the door, there was no visitor, only a single, neatly placed letter waiting for her. Shei scoffed and picked it up.
“It’s those bastards from the resistance.”
“The resistance? Do you mean something like a restoration army?”
“Exactly. It seems they heard about us and decided to make contact.”
“Heard about you? Did we not just come from the Abyss?”
“We took down five companies and smashed two bases of The Human Regime on our way here. The rumors must have spread.”
Rasch the Undying and former Lieutenant Colonel Callis had decided to take a route that steered clear of the Military State. Rasch had asked her to pass on his regards to the Teacher before they parted ways.
While finding Hughes was their primary goal, Shei was a person who valued efficiency. If she saw a base of The Human Regime along the way, she would pop in, smash it to bits, and then continue on her way.
“The news travels fast. We have not been delayed for long on our journey here.”
“The Military State has signallers and communication devices, and other places have their own methods.”
Shei smirked and tore the letter. Tyrkanzyaka was puzzled by her decisive action, which was devoid of any hesitation.
“How strange. I was under the impression that you despised this country called the Military State.”
“I do. I despise the Military State.”
Shei snapped her fingers. A flame erupted, engulfing the letter.
Watching the letter burn away without leaving even a speck of ash, Shei muttered.
“What I despise most of all is that there’s no alternative.”
Shei had tried to bring down the Military State once. The goddamned country was always the first enemy she faced, and it felt like she had to overcome it to move forward.
And she had succeeded.
After thorough preparation and several timelines of effort, Shei had destroyed the Military State. Like Sunderspear Patraxion, she became a hero of the newly established Free Republic.
And then, swallowing a bitter aftertaste, she left the country.
She never set foot in the lands of the Free Republic again.
Not in any timeline.
“Hopeless romantics, relics of a bygone era, and people who just plain hate the Military State. The resistance is a collection of these three groups. A country envisioned by people of different origins and dreams… a world where everyone is equal and happy.”
As soon as she heard Shei’s words, Tyrkanzyaka understood their nature and nodded.
The nature of human society doesn’t change, even after hundreds of years, she thought.
“A hopeless idealism.”
“That’s right. They all have a goal, but no path to get there. There’s no way people like that could even maintain the status quo….”
More accurately, she had seen it with her own eyes.
They had liberated the overworked laborers and decided to hire workers by paying them instead.
The Meta Conveyor Belt was especially crucial. As the core infrastructure of the Military State, it had to be maintained at all costs. It was the minimum requirement for running the country.
But it took less than a month for the belt to grind to a halt.
The Meta Conveyor Belt was convenient, useful, and indispensable, but it had a critical flaw: if a shipment was missed at a terminal, it could be lost for over a week. The slightest mistake placed an enormous burden on the nation.
A week of lost cargo, which led to delayed schedules, rising costs, and plummeting trust.
The workers, realizing the importance of their job, held the belt hostage and demanded better treatment. You couldn’t blame them. No matter the pay, the labor was truly back-breaking.
The kind nation, born from the rejection of the Military State, was dragged around by them.
The country’s arteries clogged. The entire nation creaked and groaned.
Shei, who had ended up breaking the country, took in the sight of the changed nation a year later. Deeply disheartened, she left.
“…Rather than leaving it to those idiots, it’s better to just pick off The Human Regime and leave the rest alone. Besides, the Military State isn’t that much of a hassle once you figure out its principles of action.”
“And you, Shei, have figured out their principles of action?”
“Of course. Look. We’re heading straight for the capital, but the country isn’t using its full force to stop us.”
“Now that you mention it, it is a peculiar situation. If one were marching on the royal castle, they should be concentrating all their power to stop the advance.”
The reason was so simple, and just as hollow. Shei remembered how empty she had felt when she learned the truth in the last timeline.
And how much more she had come to despise the Military State because of it.
“We crushed five companies, but we didn’t kill a single person. From this, the Military State has drawn a conclusion. We’re too strong to subdue, but there are only four of us, too insignificant to warrant concentrating their full military might. It’s not cost-effective, so they’re actively leaving us alone.”
Active Engagement Avoidance. Fighting isn’t worth the cost, so don’t fight at all.
It was a decision befitting a nation obsessed with efficiency.
“If they really wanted a fight to the death, they’d gather at least three of the Six Generals and come for us. If they commit their forces half-heartedly and suffer losses, it’s a national detriment. But they can’t just pull forces of that caliber from their positions, so unless one of the Six Generals is incredibly bored, they won’t come….”
Just as Shei was muttering this.
Azzy’s ears perked up. Nabi’s fur stood on end as she scowled.
Like the animals, Shei and Tyrkanzyaka also felt the blatant presence and rose to their feet.
Shei muttered, her face saying, I knew it.
“Here comes one now. A member of the Six Generals with nothing better to do.”